Abstract
This paper deals with the effect of water content on shearing characteristics of granular soils such as Shirasu by means of drained triaxial compression tests on the compacted specimens having different water contents. It is clarified in this study that apparent cohesion and angle of shearing resistance are affected independently by water content, and the parameters for shearing strength vary with confining pressure. The decrease in shearing strength with an increase in water content seems to be caused by a decrease in the portion of strength contributed by interlocking of particles. As dilatancy decreases with an increase in water content, the critical void ratio decreases correspondingly with an increase in water content.
